Henry II
Davenport, Robert and Shakespeare, William (attrib.) (1624)
Historical Records
Stationers' Register
09 September 1653 (S.R.II, 1.429 CLIO)
- Master Mosely Entred also . . . the severall playes following . . xxs vjd
- ...
- Henry the first, & Hen: the 2d, by Shakespeare & Davenport.
Theatrical Provenance
King's?
Probable Genre(s)
History.
Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues
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References to the Play
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Critical Commentary
In the context of Moseley's entries, Gary Taylor refers to "Henry I" and "Henry II" as if a single play: "The 1653 entry also attributes to Shakespeare The Merry Devil of Edmonton (as did Charles I), and to Shakespeare and Davenport the lost Henry the First and Henry the Second, which Davenport wrote or adapted in the 1620s..." (20, n43).
Harbage ("Palimpsest") points out that "[s]ince the long reign of King Stephen intervened between those of the two Henrys, Henry the First and Henry the Second seems an extremely unlikely title for a play; and as Moseley in 1653 was saving fees by entering two plays as one, it is fairly obvious that he was doing so in the present instance". Harbage is less sceptical than Bentley about the authenticity of Warburton's list of play manuscripts, deducing from Warburton's reference only to "Henry ye 1st" that "the Henry the Second manuscript had evidently become separated from its fellow" (310).
For What It's Worth
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Works Cited
Site created and maintained by David McInnis, University of Melbourne; updated 30 January 2015.